FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie, who is facing criminal charges of official misconduct and corrupt misuse of her office, was removed from office by Gov. Rick Scott on Friday.
The governor typically suspends elected officials facing criminal charges. "The governor expects all elected officials to serve Floridians in an ethical manner," said Ashley Cook, a Scott spokeswoman, said earlier in the week.
Haynie, 62, was charged with four felonies and three misdemeanors. She faces three counts of official misconduct, and single counts of perjury in an official proceeding, misuse of public office, corrupt misuse of public office and failure to disclose a voting conflict.
Haynie's criminal charges stem in part from undisclosed money she allegedly received from husband Neil Haynie's property management company Community Reliance and real estate they owned from 2014 to 2017.
An arrest report also alleges Haynie voted favorably on issues that would benefit developer James Batmasian through his Investment Limited firm. The report says she failed to disclose income she received while conducting business through Community Reliance.
Her attorney, Leonard Feurer, said Haynie was innocent and would be vindicated. Haynie declined to comment to the news media Tuesday after she was freed on bond from the jail.
Haynie's arrest came as a shock to staff and other council members, who were in the middle of a City Council meeting when she turned herself in to the jail. City Manager Leif Ahnell said she had called in sick that day.
The Boca City Council didn't have the authority to unseat the mayor. Deputy Mayor Scott Singer and council members Andrea O'Rourke and Monica Mayotte had all called for her resignation.
"I believe the mayor should resign," Mayotte said via email on Thursday, before the governor suspended Haynie. "The new charges illustrate years of reckless behavior. I believe she has demonstrated poor judgment in how she has handled herself over several years. She has completely betrayed the public's trust."
Just days before her arrest, Haynie was reprimanded and fined $500 for similar infractions by the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics. She is still facing conflict-of-interest complaints filed with the state ethics commission.
